Commentary

Greetings to all fans of the Resident Evil series! My name is Takeshi Miura, and I was given the opportunity to work on Resident Evil Code: Veronica and the Veronica portion of Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles.

The Resident Evil series is now approaching its 15th anniversary, and I’d like to give my sincerest congratulations to everyone who has been involved. I am very happy to have the chance to contribute these liner notes to this soundtrack set being released in recognition of those 15 years.

At the time I was put in charge of the music for Code: Veronica, I was working for Nextech (currently Nex Entertainment). Looking back on it, I am amazed by the generosity of the staff at Capcom and Nex for putting us as a sound team with no real experience in charge of the music for such a big title. We gave it all that we could at the time, and I am truly grateful for the continued support that fans have given the game. One can truthfully say that it continues to provide for me to this day.

And then, about 10 years later, I was given the chance to get involved with the music for Darkside Chronicles. To be honest, I had figured that I would not get another chance to work on the Resident Evil series, so I was overjoyed to be able to take such an opportunity once more. Musically, I tried to give the new music the best possible treatment while preserving the original Code: Veronica tracks.

Although the music recorded on these CDs is taken from Darkside Chronicles, none of the original flavor of Code: Veronica has been lost, so I am sure that those who loved the music of that game, or the game itself, or especially the recent HD re-release, will be satisfied.

The Resident Evil series has continued to evolve with the times, and I think that we have continued to provide new surprises for fans as well. I anticipate seeing how it will develop in the future as well. Of course, being a player myself, I’m also looking forward to it. “But…you’re not working on any more Resident Evil games, are you, Miura?” Well, that’s something that, as they say, you can look forward to. (laughs)

It was more than 10 years ago now, and a few years after I had joined Capcom, which is to say I was still a youngster without any real experience. Right after I became involved with the production of Resident Evil 2, I quickly started researching horror movies, and I can fondly recall the time I spent single-mindedly listening and fishing through soundtracks.

I had always had a hard time with frightening things, so during splatter scenes or scenes where death was approaching I would childishly look away. Since then, in the time I’ve spent working on the music for this series, I’ve become completely immune to the scary parts of the average horror game or movie, which I actually find somewhat disappointing… I didn’t start out thinking I would use music to express “things that frighten people”, so even though I was continually struggling or fainting in agony throughout the entire time I was writing music for Resident Evil (ha!), I am nonetheless eternally grateful for having been able to contribute what little I could throughout this relationship. I hope to be able to continue to spread fear throughout the world.

Resident Evil 5 Best Track Collection – Kota Suzuki (Capcom)

This is Suzuki, the lead composer on Resident Evil 5. I’m overjoyed that the music of Resident Evil 5 will now be released once again as part of this project commemorating the Resident Evil series’ 15th anniversary. I remember when, as a high school student 15 years I ago, I was introduced to the first Resident Evil by a friend who told me “Hey, there’s this game that feels like a movie!”, and we played it together. Now that I am working at Capcom on the same series, I feel an uncanny connection to those times.

As my first chance at fulfilling my goal of getting myself out there as a lead composer on a big title(!), I poured all of myself, body and soul into Resident Evil 5…but listening to the music now, I find all sorts of different spots that make me think I could have done just a bit more. There really is no end in the world of creative work. (laughs)

Musically, this project presented me with two challenges. First, how would one express terror in music for scenes in broad daylight? Going through a process of trial and error with the team, we found ways to add a sense of pressure and panic to the music. Even in the tracks using African percussion, one feels an incredible sense of pressure, of fear, and we kept that goal in mind while composing.

The other big challenge was composing a theme song. To connect the theme song to the game’s plot, I selected a singer born in Africa [Oulimata Niang] and wrote the music and lyrics while holding discussions with the director. Within the Resident Evil games, the music often puts players’ emotions are put through the mill, so when I thought about what kind of song we should have, I figured that since so much of the music in the series is unhummable, it would be great if we had at least one track that was hummable. Also (laughs), vocals get into the ear far better than instrumentals!

For this collection I have selected the tracks that I would love for all of you to hear. Please enjoy the musical world of Resident Evil 5!

This is Suzuki, continuing on as lead composer from Resident Evil 5 to Resident Evil 5 Gold Edition.

This score was never released as a soundtrack, so I’m very happy that it now has the chance to see the light of day. Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition was created as an add-on to the main game, and additional music was composed for it.

I put particular consideration into the track “Lost in Nightmares”, as the scenario was a return to our origins and an homage to the first game in making use of its cooperative team concept, and I wanted this to be reflected in the music as well. In contrast to Resident Evil 5‘s focus on “panic” horror elements, it goes for “Gothic” horror. Music plays a more important role in Gothic horror, so I put greater emphasis on a sinking feeling and on the drama in my compositions. I put a good bit of effort into it, and I think it may have worked out pretty well. I hope you enjoy it!

This is Suzuki, once more continuing in my role as lead composer of the Resident Evil 5-related titles. This game was released on portable hardware, but working together with the programmers, we were somehow able to use streaming audio for all of the tracks, so I could focus on the audio side of composition without concerning myself with the fact that it was aimed at a portable system.

Merceneries entered the series as a bonus mode beginning with Resident Evil 3. When it was decided that we should make a self-standing game entirely revolving around the Mercenaries modes of Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 5, we chose to create new music for the game as well. Inside the game, we also used some of the music from the Mercenaries modes of 4 and 5.

We chose to approach the score by creating something that revolves around various genres like orchestral, techno, electrorock, and drum and bass, something “more upbeat than the main game, but not too light, not second-rank.” The director called it “orchestral techno”, though (laughs).

On top of that(!), we made a recording with an orchestra, and added it as a bonus track! I hope you enjoy our fusion of live orchestral instruments and digital sounds!

Producer – Masachika Kawata (Capcom)

Music that expresses fear evolves over time.

This series was created 15 years ago, and since then it has spawned a variety of new titles; it has also developed in truly varied ways, from a musical standpoint. But I can’t deny that even this shining achievement pales in comparison to the technological development that produced gaming hardware during that time. It truly bears the importance of its 15 years.

Video games have progressed a good deal in those 15 years. Anyone can see how far the huge advances in graphical prowess have gone, but huge advances have also continued to be made in game music. The time when one can be praised for sound quality or the number of voices used has passed, and recently it is a matter of course that games will make use of the same 5.1 channel surround sound and its three-dimensional effects to create fear in players.

In other words, there is a strong tendency now towards fullness of content, so we’ve entered an era in which artists can express their creative personalities directly.

And in this era, music that expresses fear has taken on a variety of forms.

Although all of the soundtracks collected on this album are soundtracks to the Resident Evil series of games, the music is actually quite diverse. Some of the tracks emphasize sequenced elements, while others make use of a full orchestra. This is an era in which recording overseas is not uncommon, and any number and kind of techniques can be utilized.

That is to say that alongside the advances in technology, these works have become more complete in terms of artistic personality as well. In the careers of artists as well, we have come to seek a solid grounding not only in the ability to produce good music, but also in being able to display an individual style.

But music that expresses fear is a beautiful thing.

Letting myself go and letting the variety of styles here speak for themselves, I realized that amid the waves of fear there were melodies of almost unbearable beauty.

The breathtaking thrill of hearing a beautiful melody surface amid the musical styles and sounds that are used to express these games’ worldview, to express people’s hatred, might perhaps be an element that one could not experience in ordinary genres.

Perhaps because of the genre, the many artists here have consistently provided revolutionary work that is also fascinating in its expression. The joy that the experience of working with each and every one of these individual personalities has given me is something that cannot easily be shared with others. One could truly say that the works collected in this album bring out the artists’ individuality, that they display the artists’ sensibilities.

In other words, I want all of you to experience that fear through music supported by the highest refinements of technology and imbued with all kinds of different essences, this music that is by turns both beautiful and terrifying.

Translated and Edited by Ben Schweitzer. Please do not republish without written permission.

Posted on March 26, 2014 by Ben Schweitzer. Last modified on September 20, 2014.